


Shorn

by machtaholic (cinderella81)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Haircuts, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-17 23:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15472575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinderella81/pseuds/machtaholic
Summary: Jace goes to the Seelie Court to rescue Simon and, in order to not immediately be thrown out, pretends he's Simon's boyfriend.  In order to get Simon released, Jace must sacrifice something for Simon's freedom.





	Shorn

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You need to go rescue Simon.”

“That’s what I heard, but I thought you misspoke.” Jace ran a hand through his hair as he stared at Izzy.

“He’s being held in the Seelie Court,” Izzy said.

“And? Send Clary. Or any other Shadowhunter,” Jace said.

“Clary’s out on another assignment and Luke’s worried,” Izzy replied. “The other Shadowhunters don’t care about Simon the same way we do.”

“Then why don’t you go?” Jace asked. “Or Alec?”

“Can’t, I’ve got weapon training with Max,” Izzy said. “And we shouldn’t send Alec since he’s the head of the Institute and still has to play nice with the Queen. It’s not like you haven’t been to the Seelie Court before.”

“Yeah, and that’s what worries me,” Jace said. His last trip to the Seelie Court involved him, Simon and Clary and hadn’t ended well.

“It’s a simple rescue,” Izzy said. “Get in, get Simon and get back.”

“Nothing with the Seelie Queen is ever simple,” Jace said. “She’ll turn me away before I can even get my foot in the proverbial door.”

“You’re a smart guy, you’ll think of something,” Izzy said. “You should go, though - both Luke and Maia have been texting me like crazy.”

“This is going to end horribly, I can feel it.” Jace sighed and wrapped Izzy in a hug before tugging on a hoodie and his coat, making sure he had his stele and blade before leaving the Institute, headed in the direction of the entrance to the Seelie Glade.

One jump off a bridge later and Jace was in the Seelie Glade headed for the Court. Surprised he’d even been granted entrance, Jace used the walk through the Glade to try figure out a way to not get killed or kicked out without taking Simon with him.

Jace honestly hadn’t even realized Simon had been missing, but he should have. In the back of his mind, Jace had wondered where Simon had been. It had been oddly quiet, ever since Valentine’s death and Jace’s … rebirth. And as strange as it felt for Jace to admit it, he actually had kind of missed Simon. Loyal, smart, funny with a sarcastic wit that even Jace could appreciate, Simon’s unexpected absence had left Jace feeling a bit … empty? 

Jace tried to pull his thoughts together as he approached the Seelie Court. He heard a guitar coming from inside the Court and stopped for a moment to listen.

But you, ooh you leave me paralyzed  
And you bring me back a thousand times  
Oh you, sweeter than your hold over me,  
Tainted too you take my breath away  
Nightshade, Heeeey Nightshade, Heeeey

It was Simon.

Jace had never heard him sing before. He closed his eyes and listened some more; Simon’s voice was earthy, almost hypnotic and Jace found himself smiling as he listened. Then suddenly the music stopped and Jace could hear applause coming from inside the Court.

Jace got an idea, a crazy thought, and before good sense could tell him no, he acted on it and rushed into the Court.

“Simon? Simon!” Jace raced inside and moved to kneel in front of Simon.

“Jace?” Simon asked, clearly confused.

“I found you.” Jace reached up and cupped Simon’s cheek, rubbing a thumb along his cheekbone.

“Jace what are you -”

“Play along,” Jace whispered out of the corner of his mouth, praying none of the Seelies heard him.

Simon’s eyes widened a bit and he suddenly threw himself at Jace, pressing his face to Jace’s neck.

“I never thought I’d see you again!” Simon exclaimed.

“I’ve been searching everywhere for you,” Jace said, wrapping his arms around Simon and holding him close.

“Nephilim,” the Seelie Queen said.

Jace froze and turned his head to look at her, still clinging to Simon.

“Your Majesty,” Jace said.

“You and the Daylighter,” the Seelie Queen continued, “are in love?”

“We are.” Jace nodded and turned back to Simon, pulling back a bit so he could run a thumb across Simon’s lips. “We are.”

“The last time the two of you were here in my Court, you were at odds with each other over Clary Fairchild,” the Seelie Queen said. “And yet now the two of you are together.”

“It took us fighting over her for us to realize,” Simon said. “I wasn’t jealous of Jace for getting a kiss from Clary, I was jealous of Clary for getting to kiss Jace.”

“Intriguing,” the Seelie Queen said. “Nephilim?”

“I was always drawn to Simon,” Jace said softly. “I … I had a hard childhood and having feelings for a man was something that was definitely frowned upon. I … I pushed the feelings down for so long that I didn’t even realize I loved Simon until I was confronted with it.”

“How lovely,” the Seelie Queen said. “Two loves reunited.”

Jace really didn’t like the tone of her voice.

“So, we’re free to go?” Simon asked hopefully.

“Not just yet,” the Seelie Queen said. “Nephilim.” 

Jace extracted himself from Simon’s grasp and stood. “Your Majesty,” he said. He tried not to fidget as the Seelie Queen approached him and walked around him in a slow circle.

“You are unique,” the Seelie Queen said. “You crossed over, yet you returned to this plane. You are the same, yet different.”

Jace remained silent.

“You say you love the Daylighter,” the Seelie Queen continued.

“I do,” Jace murmured. “I love Simon.”

“Would you give anything to have him return to the mundane world with you?”

“I would,” Jace said, “I would give anything to take Simon with me.”

“There is something you can give me,” the Seelie Queen said, “something I have been running low on here in the Seelie Court.”

“Anything,” Jace said. “I’ll give you anything.”

“The hair of a nephilim is very strong,” the Seelie Queen said. “One hair woven into the armor of a Seelie strengthens it far more than any spell we could cast on it.”

Jace felt his stomach drop. His hair? 

“Jace,” Simon whispered. “Jace ... “

“Take it,” Jace said.

“A true sacrifice for a true love,” the Seelie Queen said. “Take a seat.”

Jace shrugged out of his coat, tugged off his hoodie, handed them both to Simon and then sat on the rock Simon had been occupying when Jace had first entered.

“Meliorn, your blade,” the Seelie Queen said.

“Wait, no -” Simon started.

“Simon, stop,” Jace said, giving Simon a small smile. “Anything to bring you back.”

“But a knife?” Simon said. “Don’t you have like, scissors or something?”

“A Seelie blade is sharper than any pair of scissors,” the Seelie Queen sneered as she took the blade from Melior and approached Jace. Without even a moment’s hesitation, she lifted a lock of Jace’s hair and sliced.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jace watched as the Seelie Queen passed the lock of hair to Meliorn and proceeded to slice off another lock, and another, and another. Jace didn’t really feel it - the Seelie Queen was being surprisingly gentle - but yet Jace could feel it. Could feel the slight breeze through the Court across his forehead. Suddenly he felt a cool hand wrap itself around his hand, and Jace’s stomach clenched a bit as he realized Simon had taken his hand to comfort him.

“Thank you, Nephilim, for your sacrifice.”

Jace flinched as he felt the Seelie Queen run a hand over his head. He waited until she’d stepped back before standing and running a hand over his head, flinching again when he felt uneven tufts of hair against the palm of his hand.

“Jace,” Simon whispered.

Jace turned and took his hoodie and jacket from Simon, putting the hoodie on and tugging the hood up before slipping the jacket on over it.

“It was worth it,” Jace replied.

“Nephilim, Daylighter,” the Seelie Queen said.

Jace turned back to face the Seelie Queen, his stomach clenching a bit when he felt Simon take his hand again. 

“Your Majesty,” Jace said.

“Can we, um, are we free to go?” Simon asked.

“A true sacrifice for true love,” the Seelie Queen said. 

Jace held his breath as the Seelie Queen cupped his cheek and watched as she did the same with Simon.

“You have found each other,” the Seelie Queen continued, “and your union is blessed by the Seelies.”

“Um, thank you,” Simon said.

“Thank you,” Jace said, feeling his cheek warm under the Seelie Queen’s touch.

“Be like two sweet-singing birds perched upon the highest branches of the tree of life, filling the air with songs of love and rapture,” the Seelie Queen said, before leaning in and pressing a kiss to both Jace and Simon’s cheeks.

It felt as though a weight had been lifted from Jace’s shoulders and, feeling euphoric, he turned and gave Simon a bright smile. Still clinging to Simon’s hand, Jace gave the Seelie Queen a little bow before leading Simon from the Seelie Court.

“Thank you, Majesty!” Simon called, giving a wave as Jace pulled him from the Court.

The further from the Court they got, the more the euphoria faded, yet Jace still felt … free.

“Jace?” Simon asked.

“It’s fine,” Jace said softly.

Jace stayed quiet after that until they were out of the Seelie Realm and back in the city. Only then did he tug out his phone out his coat.

“Magnus? … Yes, it’s Jace ... Do you have clippers? ... Okay we’ll be there soon.”

“Jace,” Simon said.

Jace stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and turned to face Simon, ignoring all the mundanes moving around the two of them.

“I did what I did,” Jace said, “and I don’t regret it.”

“Okay,” Simon said softly. “Okay.”

Jace gave Simon’s hand a reassuring squeeze before they were moving again towards Magnus’ apartment.  
“Jace?”

Jace was surprised when Alec opened the door instead of Magnus.

“Hey,” Jace said.

“What are you doing here? And with Simon. Where have you been?”

“Long story,” Sumon said.

“I went to rescue Simon,” Jace said, “and now I need Magnus’ help.”

“I aim to please,” Magnus said appearing next to Alec. “Simon, lovely to see you. Jace, you as well. You both are looking … hmmm … there’s something different about you two.”

Jace shrugged. “We were just in the company of the Seelie Queen so maybe that’s it,” he said.

“Perhaps,” Magnus said. “You asked me if I had a pair of clippers?”

Jace sighed and hesitantly pushed back his hoodie, instinctively reaching for Simon’s hand at the sounds Alec and Magnus both made.

“Jace,” Alec said, “what happened?”

“I rescued Simon from the Seelie Realm,” Jace said. “It was a sacrifice I willingly made so I could bring Simon back.”

“A true sacrifice for a true love,” Simon whispered.

“Oh, that explains it,” Magnus said.

“Explains what?” Jace asked.

“Nothing, nothing,” Magnus said. “So, clippers? I see Her Majesty was none too symmetrical when she claimed her prize.”

Jace ran his free hand over his head and nodded. “Um, yeah,” he said.

“Follow me,” Magnus said, leading the way through the apartment.

“So wait, why did you go to get Simon? And why was Simon down there anyway?” Alec asked.

“Long story,” Simon said.

“Izzy asked me to go,” Jace said. “And I realized it had been a little too quiet with Simon gone.”

They reached the bathroom and Jace took off his jacket, hoodie and t-shirt and dropped down onto the toilet seat.

“But I still don’t get -” Alec started.

Jace watched as Magnus leaned over and whispered for a few moments in Alec’s ear.

“Oh,” Alec said slowly. “But do they rea -”

“Alexander, be a lamb and got put the kettle on? I think a nice pot of earl grey would be lovely,” Magnus said, pressing a kiss to Alec’s cheek as he gently nudged Alec from the room. Once Alec was gone, Magnus draped an Egyptian cotton towel around Jace’s shoulders and plugged in the clippers.

“Thank you,” Jace said quietly. “I didn’t feel like answering a bunch of questions.”

“I could tell,” Magnus said. “Now, do you want Simon to do this for you?”

“No,” Jace said, then glanced over to Simon, who’d taken a spot standing next to Jace, and took Simon’s hand in his. “Could you do it?”

Magnus smiled and nodded. “Of course,” he said kindly.

The sound of the clippers turning on didn’t make Jace jump - given his normal style he was used to them - but he closed his eyes as he felt Magnus set the clippers at his forehead and pull them back, his stomach turning a bit. He could feel the clippers vibrating over the top of his head, could hear as they sliced through what was left of his hair. 

Through it all though, Simon kept a hold of Jace’s hand, every once and a while giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Not to bad if I do say so myself,” Magnus said as he turned the clippers off and whisked the towel off Jace’s shoulders. “I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you could give Alexander a run his money like this. This new style really brings attention to those lovely eyes of yours.”

“Um, thanks,” Jace mumbled, feeling himself blush. A part of him wanted to run a hand over his head, to see what it felt like, but the other part … 

“Well, you’ve had a very intense evening and I’m sure you want to sleep. You’re welcome to use the guest room tonight,” Magnus said, then glanced over at Simon. “The both of you.”

“Oh,” Simon said softly.

“A blessing from the Seelie Queen is not to be taken lightly,” Magnus said. “And, well, I can see that she’s lifted a few … roadblocks.”

“But it was just a ruse,” Jace muttered. 

“Perhaps it started that way,” Magnus said, glancing down to Simon and Jace’s clasped hands. “But can you still say that now?”

Before Jace could comment further, Magnus was gone, presumably to enjoy a cup of tea with Alec before retiring to their room for the night.

“I can just go,” Simon said softly.

“Please don’t,” Jace replied. “I’m honestly not sure exactly what’s going on, but please don’t go.”

“Okay,” Simon said.

Jace knew he was still blushing as he stood, grabbed his clothes from Simon and led the way to the guest room. It looked exactly the same as when he’d stayed there before, and Jace dumped his shirt, hoodie and jacket on floor at the foot of the bed before setting his blade and stele on the dresser and tugging off his boots.

Jace turned and saw Simon still standing in the doorway.

“Are you … do you not want to be here?” Jace asked.

“Yes?”

“You don’t sound so sure,” Jace said, tugging his jeans off and climbing onto the bed.

“I am?” Simon said, then rubbed his face and approached the bed. “I am. Just. This is a lot. A few hours ago I thought you hated me.”

“Never hated you,” Jace said. “Everything I said to the Seelie Queen was true. And right now I would really like if you joined me here on the bed.”

“You don’t think this is moving too fast?” Simon said, but he immediately stripped down to his boxer briefs and climbed onto the bed with Jace.

“I think,” Jace said, “that I’ve been denying myself for too long, that it’s time I stop denying myself happiness and that I have what I want right in front of me.”

“Wow, Jace Herondale is a romantic,” Simon said.

“Don’t go spreading it around,” Jace replied with a small smile.

“My lips are sealed,” Simon replied, grinning. “Um … can I … ?”

Jace bit his lip , watching Simon’s gaze flick back and from from Jace’s face to his hair. He hesitated for a minute, then nodded. A moment later he felt first one, then both of Simon’s hands on his scalp. Simon’s hands were cool and gentle, his fingers almost hesitantly exploring Jace’s shorn scalp.

“Simon,” Jace whispered.

“It’s soft, yet prickly,” Simon murmured, still running his hands back and forth over Jace’s head.

Jace whimpered softly, leaning into Simon’s touch. He reached out and grabbed Simon’s hips, tugging him so Simon was practically in Jace’s lap. Jace groaned when he felt Simon rubbing his cheek against Jace’s scalp and scraped his nails up and down Simon’s back. A few moments later he felt Simon stop and scoot back a bit.

“Why?” Jace asked softly, reaching to pull Simon back in closer.

“Why did I stop?” Simon asked. “Because as of a few hours ago, we were barely even friends. I really do like you, but romantic or not I’m not just going to jump into bed with you.”

Jace snorted. “You’re already in bed with me,” he said.

“Very funny, but you know what I mean,” Simon said. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this right.”

“What, like date?” Jace said, falling back on the bed and tugging Simon down with him, laughing when Simon squeaked. The fabric of the pillow felt odd against his freshly shorn scalp and Jace couldn’t help but rub his head against the pillow a bit.

“Yes, like date,” Simon said as he settled on the bed on his side facing Jace, a hand reaching out to gently stroke Jace’s scalp.

“I don’t date well,” Jace murmured, humming and leaning into Simon’s touch. “Never had good luck.”

“Our relationship was blessed by the Seelie Queen,” Simon said, still stroking Jace’s scalp. “I think we’ll be okay.”

Jace hummed again and wiggled closer to Simon, clearly enjoying the attention Simon was giving him.

“You’re like a big cat,” Simon said with a laugh.

“It feels nice,” Jace whispered. “Could you … keep doing it until I fall asleep?” He hesitantly shifted a bit, resting his head on Simon’s chest. He felt Simon chuckle as he continued to stroke Jace’s scalp.

“Gonna date the shit out of you, Jace,” Simon whispered.

Jace hummed and wrapped his arms around Simon, smiling as he snuggled in closer.

“Looking forward to it.”

* * * 

And from her throne in the Seelie Court the Seelie Queen smiled. Two souls finding true love always did make her happy. And collecting a Nephilim’s hair? Icing on the proverbial cake.

“I do so love happy endings.”


End file.
